Animal production systems and agribusinessFull-length research article Structure and concentration of the global sheep meat market ABSTRACT -The objective of this study was to examine the structure and competitiveness of the global sheep meat market using econometric indices (Balassa's revealed comparative advantage, relative position market [RPM], relative export advantage [RXA], imported specialization index [RMA], relative trade advantage [RTA], and net export index [NEI]), as well as sheep meat production, structure, consumption, and trade volume for 151 countries with sustained participation in the global trade market for sheep meat from 2003 to 2013.A hierarchical cluster analysis was used to classify countries. We observed that structure, production, and imports of sheep meat were unconcentrated, e.g., there is no country dominating for those indices; in contrast, the export market was highly concentrated with a duopolistic structure. For trade competitiveness, New Zealand, the Republic of Macedonia, and Sudan were competitive and specialized, while New Zealand and Australia were dominant in the international trade market. The global sheep meat market has become more concentrated, as it has developed as a specialized market. Therefore, there is a need for a holistic vision and understanding of the global sheep meat market so that its impact on farmers can be foreseen.

Drylands (arid and semi-arid regions) are important regions in the world; they have been disregarded and considered poor undeveloped regions due to their ecological limitations. Farmers in these regions tend towards diversification of production systems in order to achieve livelihood security, and this phenomenon has not been extensively studied. The objective of this study was to create a typology of the production systems present in the Mexican north central drylands, using variables related to production, socioeconomics, and social capital. 1044 interviews were conducted in the semi-arid region of north central Mexico. Analysis of the data allowed for the observation of nine types of production systems distributed in three groups: Subsistence, commercial, and off-farm income systems. The differences observed within these systems are due to generational gaps, gender differences, market orientation, and social capital. It can be concluded that the diversification of the dryland production systems allows for an understanding of why generic public policies have failed to mitigate poverty in these regions. The implications of the study refer to the reconfiguration of Mexican policies for the development of the drylands.